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Nikitina EA, Dashtimoghadam E, Sheiko SS, Ivanov DA. Bottlebrush Elastomers with Crystallizable Side Chains: Monolayer-like Structure of Backbones Segregated in Intercrystalline Regions. Polymers (Basel) 2024; 16:296. [PMID: 38276704 PMCID: PMC10819367 DOI: 10.3390/polym16020296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Bottlebrush (BB) elastomers with water-soluble side chains and tissue-mimetic mechanical properties are promising for biomedical applications like tissue implants and drug depots. This work investigates the microstructure and phase transitions of BB elastomers with crystallizable polyethylene oxide (PEO) side chains by real-time synchrotron X-ray scattering. In the melt, the elastomers exhibit the characteristic BB peak corresponding to the backbone-to-backbone correlation. This peak is a distinct feature of BB systems and is observable in small- or medium-angle X-ray scattering curves. In the systems studied, the position of the BB peak ranges from 3.6 to 4.8 nm in BB elastomers. This variation is associated with the degree of polymerization of the polyethylene oxide (PEO) side chains, which ranges from 19 to 40. Upon crystallization of the side chains, the intensity of the peak decays linearly with crystallinity and eventually vanishes due to BB packing disordering within intercrystalline amorphous gaps. This behavior of the bottlebrush peak differs from an earlier study of BBs with poly(ε-caprolactone) side chains, explained by stronger backbone confinement in the case of PEO, a high-crystallinity polymer. Microstructural models based on 1D SAXS correlation function analysis suggest crystalline lamellae of PEO side chains separated by amorphous gaps of monolayer-like BB backbones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evgeniia A. Nikitina
- Faculty of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), GSP-1, 1-3 Leninskiye Gory, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Erfan Dashtimoghadam
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3290, USA
| | - Sergei S. Sheiko
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3290, USA
| | - Dimitri A. Ivanov
- Faculty of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), GSP-1, 1-3 Leninskiye Gory, 119991 Moscow, Russia
- Scientific Center for Genetics and Life Sciences, Sirius University of Science and Technology, 1 Olympic Ave, 354340 Sochi, Russia
- Institut de Sciences des Matériaux de Mulhouse-IS2M, CNRS UMR 7361, F-68057 Mulhouse, France
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Lang W, Chen LZ, Chen Y, Cao QY. A GSH-activated AIE-based polymer photosensitizer for killing cancer cells. Talanta 2023; 258:124473. [PMID: 36989616 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.124473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
Developing efficient photosensitizers which are sensitive to therapeutic tumor signals, but non-toxic to normal cells has always been a tremendous challenge in photodynamic therapy (PDT) process. Herein, a novel copolymer P1 was developed by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) with disulfide bond linked ferrocene-norbornene dyad NB-SS-PyFc and the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) fluorephore anchored norbornene NB-TPE, and its nanoparticles (NPs) were obtained by using the amphiphilic Pluronic F-127 as the surfactant via a nanoprecipitation method. The P1 NPs show a weak emission and a low 1O2 generation for the quenching effect from the ferrocene moiety to the AIE group. However, the addition of GSH can recover the AIE fluorephore emission and 1O2 generation for cleavage the disulfide bond. Importantly, P1 NPs have been used for image-guided cancer cells apoptosis for the GSH activated 1O2 generation.
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Bersenev EA, Nikitina EA, Dashtimoghadam E, Sheiko SS, Ivanov DA. Bottlebrush Elastomers with Crystallizable Side Chains: Monitoring Configuration of Polymer Backbones in the Amorphous Regions during Crystallization. ACS Macro Lett 2022; 11:1085-1090. [PMID: 35998353 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.2c00394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Brush-like elastomers with crystallizable side chains hold promise for biomedical applications requiring the presence of two distinct mechanical states below and above body temperature: hard and supersoft. The hard semicrystalline state facilitates piercing of the body whereupon the material softens to match the mechanics of surrounding soft tissue. To understand the transition between the two states, the crystallization process was studied with synchrotron X-ray scattering for a series of brush elastomers with poly(ε-caprolactone) side chains bearing from 7 to 13 repeat units. The so-called bottlebrush correlation peak was used to monitor configuration of bottlebrush backbones in the amorphous regions during the crystallization process. In the course of crystallization, the backbones are expelled into the interlamellar amorphous gaps, which is accompanied by their conformational changes and leads to partitioning to unconfined (melt) and confined (semicrystalline) (conformational) states. The crystallization process starts by consumption of the unconfined macromolecules by the growing crystals followed by reconfiguration of macromolecules within the already grown spherulites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Egor A Bersenev
- Faculty of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), GSP-1, 1-3 Leninskiye Gory, 119991 Moscow, Russian Federation.,Institute of Problems of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka, Moscow region, 142432, Russian Federation
| | - Evgeniia A Nikitina
- Faculty of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), GSP-1, 1-3 Leninskiye Gory, 119991 Moscow, Russian Federation.,Institute of Problems of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka, Moscow region, 142432, Russian Federation
| | - Erfan Dashtimoghadam
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3290, United States
| | - Sergei S Sheiko
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3290, United States
| | - Dimitri A Ivanov
- Faculty of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), GSP-1, 1-3 Leninskiye Gory, 119991 Moscow, Russian Federation.,Institute of Problems of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka, Moscow region, 142432, Russian Federation.,Institut de Sciences des Matériaux de Mulhouse-IS2M, CNRS UMR 7361, F-68057 Mulhouse, France.,Sirius University of Science and Technology, 1 Olympic Avenue, 354340, Sochi, Russian Federation
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Pan T, Dutta S, Sing CE. Interaction potential for coarse-grained models of bottlebrush polymers. J Chem Phys 2022; 156:014903. [PMID: 34998351 DOI: 10.1063/5.0076507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Bottlebrush polymers are a class of highly branched macromolecules that show promise for applications such as self-assembled photonic materials and tunable elastomers. However, computational studies of bottlebrush polymer solutions and melts remain challenging due to the high computational cost involved in explicitly accounting for the presence of side chains. Here, we consider a coarse-grained molecular model of bottlebrush polymers where the side chains are modeled implicitly, with the aim of expediting simulations by accessing longer length and time scales. The key ingredients of this model are the size of a coarse-grained segment and a suitably coarse-grained interaction potential between the non-bonded segments. Prior studies have not focused on developing explicit forms of such potentials, instead, relying on scaling arguments to model non-bonded interactions. Here, we show how to systematically calculate an interaction potential between the coarse-grained segments of bottlebrush from finer grained explicit side chain models using Monte Carlo and Brownian dynamics and then incorporate it into an implicit side chain model. We compare the predictions from our coarse-grained implicit side chain model with those obtained from models with explicit side chains in terms of the potential of mean force, the osmotic second virial coefficient, and the interpenetration function, highlighting the range of applicability and limitations of the coarse-grained representation. Although presented in the context of homopolymer bottlebrushes in athermal solvents, our proposed method can be extended to other solvent conditions as well as to different monomer chemistries. We expect that our implicit side chain model will prove useful for accelerating large-scale simulations of bottlebrush solutions and assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyuan Pan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1304 W. Green Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Sarit Dutta
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Charles E Sing
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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Cheng S, Zhao R, Seferos DS. Precision Synthesis of Conjugated Polymers Using the Kumada Methodology. Acc Chem Res 2021; 54:4203-4214. [PMID: 34726058 DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.1c00556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Since the discovery of conductive poly(acetylene), the study of conjugated polymers has remained an active and interdisciplinary frontier between polymer chemistry, polymer physics, computation, and device engineering. One of the ultimate goals of polymer science is to reliably synthesize structures, similar to small molecule synthesis. Kumada catalyst-transfer polymerization (KCTP) is a powerful tool for synthesizing conjugated polymers with predictable molecular weights, narrow dispersities, specific end groups, and complex backbone architectures. However, expanding the monomer scope beyond the well-studied 3-alkylthiophenes to include electron-deficient and complex heterocycles has been difficult. Revisiting the successful applications of KCTP can help us gain new insight into the CTP mechanisms and thus inspire breakthroughs in the controlled polymerization of challenging π-conjugated monomers.In this Account, we highlight our efforts over the past decade to achieve controlled synthesis of homopolymers (p-type and n-type), copolymers (diblock and statistical), and monodisperse high oligomers. We first give a brief introduction of the mechanism and state-of-the-art of KCTP. Since the extent of polymerization control is determined by steric and electronic effects of both the catalyst and monomer, the polymerization can be optimized by modifying monomer and catalyst structures, as well as finding a well-matched monomer-catalyst system. We discuss the effects of side-chain steric hindrance and halogens in the context of heavy atom substituted monomers. By moving the side-chain branch point one carbon atom away from the heterocycle to alleviate steric crowding and stabilize the catalyst resting state, we were able to successfully control the polymerization of new tellurophene monomers. Inspired by innocent role of the sterically encumbered 2-transmetalated 3-alkylthiophene monomer, we introduce the treatment of hygroscopic monomers with a bulky Grignard compound as a water-scavenger for the improved synthesis of water-soluble conjugated polymers. For challenging electron-deficient monomers, we discuss the design of new Ni(II)diimine catalysts with electron-donating character which enhance the stability of the association complex between the catalyst and the growing polymer chain, resulting in the quasi-living synthesis of n-type polymers. Beyond n-type homopolymers, the Ni(II)diimine catalysts are also capable of producing electron-rich and electron-deficient diblock and statistical copolymers. We discuss how density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate the role of catalyst steric and electronic effects in controlling the synthesis of π-conjugated polymers. Moreover, we demonstrate the synthesis of monodisperse high oligomers by temperature cycling, which takes full advantage of the unique character of KCTP in that it proceeds through distinct intermediates that are not reactive. The insight we gained thus far leads to the first example of isolated living conjugated polymer chains prepared by a standard KCTP procedure, with general applicability to different monomers and catalytic systems. In summarizing a decade of innovation in KCTP, we hope this Account will inspire future development in the field to overcome key challenges including the controlled synthesis of electron-deficient heterocycles, complex and high-performance systems, and degradable and recyclable materials as well as cutting-edge catalyst design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan Cheng
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Ruyan Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Dwight S. Seferos
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E5, Canada
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Hicks GEJ, Li S, Obhi NK, Jarrett-Wilkins CN, Seferos DS. Programmable Assembly of π-Conjugated Polymers. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2021; 33:e2006287. [PMID: 34085725 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202006287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Revised: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
π-Conjugated polymers have numerous applications due to their advantageous optoelectronic and mechanical properties. These properties depend intrinsically on polymer ordering, including crystallinity, orientation, morphology, domain size, and π-π interactions. Programming, or deliberately controlling the composition and ordering of π-conjugated polymers by well-defined inputs, is a key facet in the development of organic electronics. Here, π-conjugated programming is described at each stage of material development, stressing the links between each programming mode. Covalent programming is performed during polymer synthesis such that complex architectures can be constructed, which direct polymer assembly by governing polymer orientation, π-π interactions, and morphological length-scales. Solution programming is performed in a solvated state as polymers dissolve, aggregate, crystallize, or react in solution. Solid-state programming occurs in the solid state and is governed by polymer crystallization, domain segregation, or gelation. Recent progress in programming across these stages is examined, highlighting order-dependent features and assembly techniques that are unique to π-conjugated polymers. This should serve as a guide for delineating the many ways of directing π-conjugated polymer assembly to control ordering, structure, and function, enabling the further development of organic electronics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Garion E J Hicks
- Lash Miller Chemical Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Sheng Li
- Lash Miller Chemical Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Nimrat K Obhi
- Lash Miller Chemical Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Charles N Jarrett-Wilkins
- Lash Miller Chemical Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Dwight S Seferos
- Lash Miller Chemical Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3H6, Canada
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Yin L, Liu L, Zhang N. Brush-like polymers: design, synthesis and applications. Chem Commun (Camb) 2021; 57:10484-10499. [PMID: 34550120 DOI: 10.1039/d1cc03940g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
With the development of controlled polymerisation, almost all polymerisation strategies have been successfully transplanted to surface-initiated polymerisation. The resulting polymer brushes have emerged as an effective tool for surface functionalization and modulation of the surface properties of materials. To meet various demands it is possible to tailor a material surface with polymer brushes that have diverse dimensionalities, morphologies and compositions. The crowded environment within polymer brushes as well as the stretched conformation of polymer chains sometimes provide unique physicochemical properties, which lead to the delicate creation of inorganic-organic hybridised nanostructures, anti-fouling coatings, biomedical carriers, and materials for use in lubrication, photonics and energy storage. So far, challenges remain in the high-precision synthesis and topological control needed to realize extended applications of polymer brushes. In this Feature Article, we highlight the topology, potential application prospects and various synthetic protocols, particularly for recently established methods, for the efficient synthesis of polymer brushes, as well as their benefits and limitations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liying Yin
- Department of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, P. R. China.
| | - Lin Liu
- Department of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, P. R. China.
| | - Ning Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, P. R. China.
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Yan Y, Zhao Y, Liu Y. Recent progress in organic field‐effect transistor‐based integrated circuits. JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/pol.20210457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yongkun Yan
- Department of Materials Science Fudan University Shanghai China
| | - Yan Zhao
- Department of Materials Science Fudan University Shanghai China
| | - Yunqi Liu
- Department of Materials Science Fudan University Shanghai China
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Pahlavanlu P, An SY, Panchuk JR, Pollit AA, Seferos DS. Anion-Radical Polymerization of Sulfur- and Selenium-Substituted N-Type Conjugated Polymers. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c00193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Paniz Pahlavanlu
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - So Young An
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Jenny R. Panchuk
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Adam A. Pollit
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Dwight S. Seferos
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
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